A Cappela Newsletter for Writers               September 2002

Your monthly newsletter from Patrika, your Author’s Advocate™

Visit her, send an email, at www.acappela.com

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DON’T MAIL THAT MANUSCRIPT without a professional review from A Cappela!

Before you mail out that manuscript or query, make sure it’s as polished and professional as possible. Send your work to A Cappela Publishing and get the specific tailored advice you need to get an extra edge on the competition — and make all your manuscripts more marketable.

After a thorough evaluation of your submission, one of our published, professional staff writers will give you detailed feedback and recommendations. You’ll learn what is and isn’t working in your writing, and how to fix it.

Your Critique includes:

*Genre-specific Advice

Whether your writing is a novel or a nonfiction book, an article or short story, a query letter or book proposal, you can be sure that your work will be evaluated by a pro who has personal experience with the same kind of writing.

*Grammar and Style Suggestions

Your personal reviewer will evaluate your writing to point out common grammatical, structural and stylistic mistakes — mistakes that can mean the difference between a rejection and a sale.

*Market Recommendations

If your manuscript is marketable as is, or with slight revision, you’ll get recommendations for marketing your work — including how to identify the publishers which buy your kind of writing.

For complete information, including submission guidelines and rates, visit

http://www.acappela.com/critiques.htm

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Forward this issue to your writer friends NOW and tell them to subscribe. Forward the ENTIRE issue, not bits and pieces of it. This issue has been sent out to 480 writers. Won't you help this ezine grow? Tell your friends to subscribe at http://www.acappela.com

PAT’S PICKS:

Grandparents Day is next week, September 8^th!

Do you know as much as you’d like to about your grandparents’ lives? No? Then present them with the chance to tell you: get them How To Write Your Own Life Story (Write Your Own Life Story). They’ll succeed with this even if they’ve never written anything more than a letter!

NEWS FLASH: Self-Publishing Becoming More Acceptable? According to Wired.com columnist M.J. Rose, the stigma associated with self-publishing is diminishing. In fact, she says, in the last 18 months more than three-dozen self-published titles have been bought by major publishing houses…so what are you waiting for? Contact Advocate House (www.acappela.com/AH.htm) now — they’ll do all the hard work of getting you self-published!

Want to learn how you can get published? Need help editing or marketing your manuscript? Want to take virtual classes to improve your writing skills? Visit this award-winning website to learn what options await you. http://www.acappela.com.

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MARKETS

~Fiction

Soap Opera Writers Wanted. Must have a good grasp of what it's like to be single today. Need ongoing story lines for new daily e-zine. Seven characters are open: 1 Female 18-22 yrs. old 1 Female 22-25 yrs. old 1 Male 22-30 yrs. old 1 Female 25-30 yrs. old 1 Female 30-40 yrs. old 1 Male 30-40 yrs. old 1 Female 40-50 yrs. old One story per week needed that details the life of your character as they date, work, live etc. All story lines must revolve around the experiences singles would have while looking for or experiencing heterosexual relationships. "R" rated material encouraged -- absolutely no X-rated stuff. Weekly story should be approximately 400-500 words. Pays 3.5 cents per word. We buy the right to publish each story once. Then you retain all subsequent rights. This would be a great way to work on a novel! Reply to tjccreations@yahoo.com with questions or interest.

Filly Magazine is 80% freelance written; welcomes new writers; a new market targeting savvy, intelligent, enthusiastic girls who want to read about horses. Nonfiction: interviews with girls of exceptional success in contribution to the equestrian world, equine experts, career horsewomen; how-to on horse care, riding instruction, training etc; humor, general interest for young horsewomen). Fiction: adventure, historical, humorous, fantasy/myth, mystery, suspense; must be horse related Poetry: free and light verse, traditional, cultural Columns/departments: Blue Ribbon features a girl whose efforts help horses or other people through interaction with horses; Nosebag offers book and product reviews; craft/cooking/ quizzes/activities Length: 500-2000 words (nonfiction); 1,000-2,000 words (fiction); 75-150 words (Blue Ribbon column); 75 words (Nosebag column) Submission: Postal mail submission only; simultaneous subs OK; include SASE; submit seasonal materials 6 months in advance Rights: First Rights. Payment: 3 cents/word (nonfiction, fiction); $15 (poem); $10-$30 (columns/departments) Response Time: 12 weeks. Buys 18-24 nonfiction mss/year; 6-9 fiction pieces/year. For nonfiction pieces, query or send complete ms. Articles with photos are given special consideration. For fiction, send complete ms. For poetry, send 6 poems maximum. For column/department pieces, send complete ms with photos or illustrations (if needed).Tamara L. Downs, Editor, 1020 NW El Dorado Drive, Pullman, WA 99163. E-mail: mailto:tdowns@aiains.com

~Nonfiction

Love to Write? Wanna get exposure!? Hello, we are a team of 12 writers & entrepreneurs launching a new website. The site will offer the world free services and will help many charities too. We are in need of a few more writers to join the team. So if you love to write, have strong opinions, are looking to get published, and want to do good and help people, keep reading! We’re looking for: ·Editorial writers –romance, love, marriage, dating, sex, etc. ·Advice Columnists ·Writers knowledgeable about charities and volunteering Optional work: Business – press releases, investor information, legal & financial documents. Your target audience will be made up of single professionals age 21+. Your work will reach several hundred thousand within one year. We are extremely flexible - work from ANY location, choose your time commitment, write about what interests you Qualifications: At least 21 years of age, college graduate, excellent writing skills, opinionated personality, and a LOVE of writing. Writers will be paid in the near future if/when we make money! Please email ftechinc@yahoo.com for more information, or to submit your resume. Also, please be prepared to submit writing samples.

Divorce Magazine ( http://www.DivorceMagazine.com ) speaks to the heart of the issue at the time when the changes caused by divorce are taking place. Divorce can be the single most stressful and traumatic event in a person's life; people read Divorce Magazine because it provides information, support and guidance they can trust at a time w hen they need it most. Life doesn't prepare most of us to deal with the tangible blows we'll suffer through divorce -- such as the loss of disposable income, the family house, the car and maybe even children -- let alone the intangibles -- feelings of anger, depression, inadequacy and guilt. Divorce is a quarterly magazine designed to help people cope with this difficult transition. This magazine's mandate is to provide a unique, friendly resource of vital information and timely advice to help our readers survive, and even thrive, during their divorce. Submit your specific idea for an article in writing to Assistant Editor Jeffrey Cottrill by e-mail or snail mail. No phone calls, please. We are only interested in stories that have a positive, practical application to our readers. At the present time, we are not interested in poetry, short fiction, comic strips or articles written in first-person narrative. We are also not interested in "The Divorce From Hell" or celebrity gossip. We accept story ideas in writing only. Unfortunately, we receive such a large volume of unsolicited article submissions and magazine inquiries that a six-month wait for a reply from us is not uncommon. If your proposal contains time-sensitive information, please highlight this material. Article length: 1,000 to 3,000 words. Payment: $.10/word. When submitting ideas, please include your resume and samples of published work. Jeffrey Cottrill (editors@divorcemag.com), Assistant Editor, Divorce Magazine, 145 Front St. East, suite 301, Toronto, Ontario M5A 1E3, Canada

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CONTESTS

NOTE: Writers interested in entering literary contests should check out the Literary Contest Caution (http://windpub.org/literary.scams/index.htm), a site that lists poetry and creative writing contests known to rip-off writers

Deadline: September 1, 2002. THE MIGHTY WITHLACOOCHEE FICTION AWARD. No more than 50,000 word novella or 200 page manuscript of short stories will be accepted. Any well-written manuscript on any topic will be considered. Previously published works may be entered. Include a $20 reading fee. $1,000 prize and publication. Send submissions to: Snake Nation Press, 110 #2 West Force Street, Valdosta, GA 31601

~Deadline September 1, 2002 2002 NATIONAL POETRY DAY CONTEST. Theme: Road to Recovery (Where do we go from here?) Line limit: 32 lines, any form. Sponsored by The New Jersey Poetry Society, Inc., the only official NJ poetry organization affiliated with the Federation of State Poetry Societies, Inc. Prizes: $50, $25, $12. Submissions: Follow all rules to avoid being disqualified. All entries must be original, unpublished poems neatly printed or typed double-spaced, in English, and on white paper. Cover sheet should have your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, if applicable, along with title and first line of each submitted poem Poetry pages should have three copies of each poem, no identification on any copies; only poem and its title. Entry Fees:For New Jersey Poetry Society, Inc. members: First Poem: $2, Each Additional Poem: $1. For non-members: First Poem: $3, Each Additional Poem: $2. Make checks payable to NJPS, Inc. Mail check, poem copies and cover sheet to: Ms. Edith R. Kaltovich, 12 Rydal Drive, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Winners announced prior to October 19, 2002 (National Poetry Day)

~Deadline: September 15, 2002. UNITEDPLANET.ORG Calling for the voices of every nation to submit poetry, fiction, & creative nonfiction addressing cross-cultural understanding, friendship, world unity, and peace. No entry fee. First Prize: $500 and publication. Submit in native tongue and English by e-mail to mailto:voices@unitedplanet.org

~Deadline September 30, 2002 BUZZWORDS OPEN SHORT STORY COMPETITION. First Prize - £300 (UK pounds or equivalent) Second Prize - £100, Third Prize - £50. Runner up prizes of free subscriptions to BuzzWords.Word limit - 4,000 words. Entry fee: £5.00 for the first story, £3.00 second and subsequent. US entrants please e-mail me at editor@buzzwordsmagazine.co.uk for details of US agent to whom entry fee may be paid, following which, stories may be e-mailed. Details: 

~ Deadline October 1, 2002 2002 ZEOTROPE: ALL-STORY SHORT FICTION CONTEST Prizes: $1,000 (1st); $500 (2nd); $250 (3rd). All entries must be: unpublished; 5,000 words or less, clearly marked "Short Story Contest" on both the story and the outside of the envelope. Entry fee: $15 per story, made payable to AZX Publications. Mail entries to Zoetrope: All-Story Short Story Contest, 916 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94133. For more info, email mailto:contests@all-story.com

~Deadline October 1, 2002 THE MILTON KESSLER MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR POETRY. $500 Prize and Publication in Winter Issue of Harpur Palate. Winter 2001 Winner: Eric Machan Howd for "Cell." Milton Kessler -- poet and teacher -- was a great friend and mentor to students in the creative writing program at Binghamton University. In honor of his dedication to the development of writers, Harpur Palate is pleased to announce the Second Annual Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry. Poems in any style, form or genre are welcome as long as they are no more than three pages and previously unpublished. The entry fee is $10 for five poems. You may send as many poems as you wish, but no more than five poems per envelope. Please send checks drawn on a US bank or money orders. IMPORTANT: Please make sure your checks are made out to HARPUR PALATE, or we won't be able to process them! All stories entered will be considered for publication in Harpur Palate. All entrants will receive a copy of the issue in which the winning entry appears. Please include a cover letter with your name, address, phone number, an e-mail address you check regularly and poem titles. Entrant's name should ONLY appear on the cover letter and should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Manuscripts cannot be returned, so please only send disposable copies. Send entries along with a SASE for contest results to: Milton Kessler Poetry Contest, Harpur Palate English Dept., Binghamton University, Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

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WRITING Q&A If you have questions about general writing issues, send your questions to acappub@aol.com with "Ask Pat" in the subject line. The questions with the greatest general interest will be answered here.

Q: How long should I wait for a publisher to respond to my query?

A: Response times vary from one publishing company to another. When you send your query to the acquisitions editor, (s)he either has the power to approve the query immediately or must present your idea to a committee of editorial and marketing staffs. The response time reflects this. Response time differs for query letters, book proposals, and manuscripts, but it usually takes a shorter time (one or two months) to respond to a query letter, if you’ve include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with the query. You can find response times and other submission guidelines listed in Writer's Market. Research the publishing company and the editor's contact preferences before you follow up with the editor to whom you sent a query. If you have not received a response within the response time listed, contact the editor by her/his preferred method (e-mail, phone, fax, etc.) with a polite note, saying you are inquiring about the status of your query, sent on (date).

WORDPLAY

Each year the Washington Post's Style Invitational asks readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter and supply a new definition. Here are some of the 2001 winners:

Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (this one got extra credit)

Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Notable quotes from those who’ve done it

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong" -Joseph Chilton Pearce

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Don’t forget to send in your suggestions, feedback, and your writing questions and check our website (www.acappela.com) for our page of website resources

Patrika

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